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UN Secretary-General leadership selection process

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2026-08-21 04:44 UTC → 2026-08-21 10:22 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Annalena Baerbock, the outgoing President of the United Nations General Assembly, has advocated for a female successor to António Guterres as UN Secretary-General, stating it is ‘time for a woman’ to lead the organization. The selection process currently involves candidates including former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and IAEA Director Rafael Grossi. As the process continues, Baerbock has faced diplomatic pushback. The United States and Russia have criticized her involvement, accusing her of overstepping her authority and interfering with the competencies of the UN Security Council. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia expressed concern over the role Baerbock is attempting to assume, while US Ambassador Jennifer Locetta accused her of hypocrisy and described her actions as ‘irresponsible.’ The friction stems from Baerbock’s efforts to implement a ‘transparent, inclusive, structured, timely and credible’ selection process. This includes organizing public inquiries of the candidates and, for the first time, allowing the audience to vote on candidates. Specifically, US Ambassador Locetta criticized a public poll of candidates organized by Baerbock on July 23, describing the approach as ‘unprecedented, non-transparent, and unfair.’ While Baerbock has requested that the Security Council consider only those who participated in dialogues with the General Assembly, the Security Council maintains primary responsibility for recommending a candidate through secret ballots. The number of candidates vying to succeed Guterres, whose term concludes on December 31, has grown to eight.

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